Madness And Adorableness LOTS OF IT
by bubblecandyrock
Summary: A small collection of the Vocaloids are looking for inspiration for new songs. Luckily, Saotome is letting them stay at the Master Course dorms! But what's this? Gakupo is flirting with Masato? Natsuki and Kaito are dressing Len up? Rin, Miku and Luka are playing matchmaker! Oh dear... -Shonen Ai, light yaoi, pairings to be voted on
1. Preview

"Eeeehhhhh?! This is where we're staying?!" a girl said, gazing up at the Master Course dorm. She looked unconvinced, and turned to the boy holding her hand. "What do you think Len?"

"Shining Saotome was kind enough to offer us lodging for a short time. Just long enough to get inspiration," a pink haired woman spoke up, folding her arms. "It isn't permanent, so DON'T make yourselves at home."

"No road roller?" Len looked up, giving her his best pout, cat hoodie and all.

"Not a chance," she replied in a deadpan. Len hung his head.

"Rin, we're going to die of boredom," he stated to his mirror image.

"Nonsense! It'll be fun!" A blue haired man picked up Len and squeezed the air out of him. "We get a rest! And we can play, and eat ice cream, and dress you up, and-"

"PUT. ME. DOWN."

"Kaito, put Lenny down or I'll gut you!" Rin informed him, smiling sweetly.

"Dear me, they've already started," a purple haired man said, flicking his long hair out of the way. "There's no way this dorm will stay up. What do you think, Miku?" Everyone stopped, turning to face a young girl with long, twin ponytails of a turquoise shade.

"I think we're going to have lots of fun~"

XxXxXxWhatisthisIdon'tevenxXxXxX

"Why would Shining DO this to us?!" Syo groaned, flopping onto the couch as if his life was over. "We just got a break, and now these Voca-what's-its are going to be staying here?!"

"Vocaloids," Tokiya spoke up. "They're famous because they're robots. Androids. They cater to a very specific group of fans."

"But they're out of inspiration!" Ittoki piped up, stiffening slightly when Tokiya turned his gaze to him. "S-so Shining is letting them stay here with us for a while."

"Ah, what a pain," Ren said, smirking and placing his hands on his hips.

"I think it could be fun," Haruka said quietly, making everyone look at her. "W-well, we've been cooped up in here lately; it couldn't hurt to meet some other people." She blushed, looking down. "Sorry..."

"I think Haruka-chan's right!" Natsuki said, emiting waves of bubbles and happiness.

"Of course you do!" Syo sighed, whacking him over the head.

"They've been doing this for a long time. It's possible we can learn something from them," Masato said, setting his tea down.

"No matter what we think, they're staying here," Cecil pointed out. "So even if we don't want them here, it's best to make the best of it."

They all thought about this, and then nodded. They would be good, hospitable hosts.

And then the door bell rang.

**Aaaaaand that marks the end of the preview! Chapter 1 should follow soon!**


	2. Chapter 1

The door opened, and the two groups faced each other, looking each other over for a moment. There was a stretch of silence where they examined each other.

"Woow, your outfits are amazing!" Ittoki spoke up, smiling widely. The rest of STARISH tensed. They weren't sure yet if these idols were friendly or not.

"Ehh?! You think so?!" A blue haired man exclaimed, bouncing over to Ittoki. "Luka-chan and I picked them out! We're not used to wearing civilian's clothing! I like my white jeans!" STARISH relaxed. Somewhat.

The pink-haired woman blushed. "It was nothing," she mumbled, folding her arms.

"Erm..." a cute girl with pigtails began, tapping her finger to her cheek. "I suppose we should introduce ourselves, since we'll be living with you for a while." Her voice was amazingly high-pitched. "My name is Hatsune Miku!" She struck a pose, and some of the wiser idols guessed it was habit.

"I'm Kagamine Rin!" a blonde girl with a bow said helpfully. "Nice place."

"Kagamine Len," a similar-looking boy said, a pouty expression on his face. You could hear Natsuki swooning in the background.

"My name is Megurine Luka," the pink-haired woman said. "Please forgive Len, he didn't really want to come."

"It's all right," Masato said, speaking before the others could.

"Oh, we have a true beauty in our midst," the purple-haired man said. STARISH tensed. The last thing they needed was another Haruka-admirer. But when the flitatious man walked forward, he knelt in fornt of Masato! "A pleasure to meet you in person, Hijirikawa Masato. My name is Kamui Gakupo." Gakupo gently took Masato's hand and kissed it. "And what a meeting. Our destinies in the stars must be intwined very... Intimately."

"E-e-eh-wh-wha-" Masato was reduced to a stuttering mess, his face bright red. The others weren't sure how to react.

"Eheheh," the blue-haired man dragged Gakupo backwards. "Sorry about him, I'll try to keep him in check. Ah! My name's Shion Kaito."

"We look forward to working with you," Luka said, bowing deeply.

"Ah! Luka-chan, no need to be so formal!" Haruka exclaimed, feeling honoured.

"You think so?" she responded, going deep into thought. There was an awkward silence for a moment.

"Saotome is far, far away at the moment," Cecil said, breaking it.

"However, he left a list of the rooms and who's rooming with who," Tokiya said, holding out a piece of paper.

"We can show you where they are! We know the place suuuper well!" Natsuki chirped.

"Only 'cause we have to," Syo muttered sullenly, crossing his arms. Kaito looked at him and started laughing. "Oi, what the hell are you laughing at, idiot?!"

"I-i-it's just, heh, you and Len l-look-hahaha-identical right now!" he laughed. "Your faces are the s-s-s-s-aamme!"

"Teehee, you're right!" Rin exclaimed, but clapped a hand over her mouth when Len gave her a betrayed look. This was accompanied with a floopy cat hoodie and big, shota eyes. "S-sorry." She coughed, hiding her smile.

"Hmmm, this can't be right," Ren mused aloud, looking over the list. "Luka and Miku makes sense, and Kaito and Gakupo, but it says Rin and Len are in the same room. Ladies and men are supposed to be separate."

"It might've been the most sensible way to divide it," Miku mused.

"Yeah. Rin and I are basically unofficial siblings, so it's not like we'll see anything we haven't seen before," Len concluded, shrugging his shoulders.

"A-a-anyway," Let's show you guys your rooms!" Ittoki said, scratching the back of his head.

XxXxXxpagebreakpagebreakpagebreakpgebr-

"And lastly, this is where you two will be staying," Tokiya said, showing Gakupo and Kaito their room. It was decorated with the newest trends. "You probably have to make yourselves comfortable, so go ahead and unpack. Dinner is in an hour."

"Amazing!" Kaito exclaimed, looking around in awe. "It's so big!"

"The room is very high class," Gakupo said, a hand on his chin as if in thought. "The bed, especially." His lips curved up in a smile as his eyes slid to face Masato. "Care to test the theory, Hijirikawa-san?" Masato blushed again, stumbling backwards and stuttering like an idiot. Kaito took note of the dangerous aura emanating from Ren and interrupted.

"Ahahah!" He slapped Gakupo on the back with more force than necessary. "You're such a kidder, Gaku-Gaku!"

"W-we're going to leave you guys now!" Natsuki said, ushering the others towards to door.

"Feel free to wander around when you're done!" Cecil called over his shoulder as the door shut.

"Whew~" Kaito let out a big breath, putting his hands on his slim hips. Then he turned to his roommate with a frown."Gakupo, you're going to have to keep it in your pants while we're here. Poor Hijirikawa-san looked like he was going to die!"

"Oh please," Gakupo scoffed from where he lay on his bed, his purple dress shirt half unbuttoned now that the others were gone. "I'm a very gentle lover." He rolled onto his side, propping himself up on his elbow. "Would you like to see for yourself?"

"Ahahah, no!" Kaito said, chuckling. He obviously didn't consider the request to be serious. "Your hand can be your lover!"

"Such a cold rejection!"

(In Miku and Luka's room)

"Are you sure you can be in here, Rin? Won't Len feel lonely?" Miku asked from her bed. Rin, who was sitting next to her, guffawed.

"Oh, let him sulk! He's impossible when he's like this!"

"Nevermind Len," Luka said, sitting on the ground with a game controller in her hand. "Get to what you really want to talk about."

"Oh, fine!" Miku pouted. "I was trying to be considerate and all that! Anyway, what I wanted to say was... Aren't there so many pairings brewing here?!"

"I now, right?!" Rin squealed, flapping her arms like a chicken having a seizure.

"You can even tell which ones would be uke and seme!" Miku squealed back. Luka rolled her eyes, pausing the game.

"So basically, you guys are going to try to play matchmaker again? In addition to trying to write some new songs?"

"Oh, Luka!" Miku sighed. "The songs will be fine!"

"Besides, you're going to HELP us play matchmaker!" Rin added. Luka opened her mouth to protest, but realized something. Going along with this would mean stopping them from using ideas that were too crazy.

"Fine," she sighed. Miku and Rin started squealing in excitement.

(with Len)

Len sighed from where he sat by the pond on dorm grounds. He was sitting on the grass, holding his knees close to him. Staring at the water for a while, he sighed and laid back, pulling the hoodie down over his eyes to sheild them from the late afternoon sun.

At least the hoodie was good for something. When Kaito had first shown it to him, the blue haired man had fought him just to get the silly hoodie on, because of the ridiculous cat ears on it. But it was actually really comfortable.

"Man, this is gonna suck," Len sulked. He didn't want to be here.

"What are you doing out here?"

**Ah, I wonder who that was (even I don't know, XD)!**

** I wasn't sure who to have Gakupo flirt with at first, but I wanted him to be gay. And Masato is the prettiest, in my biased opinion (Masato fan for life). I figured a jealous Ren would break the distance between the two, as well. I might make him flirt a bit with some of the others, but his main goal will be Masa.**

** Absolute pairings:**

** TokiyaxIttoki**

** RENxMASATO**

*******Not sure what pairings to do among the vocaloid boys, so let's get your opinion.**

** KaitoxLen**

** GakupoxKaito**

** AixLen**

** CamusxGakupo**

** Or something else. -If so, tell me what it is! ^^ (The same pairing with switched seme-uke roles would count in this category)**

** If you want to vote, REVIEW! Just remember, I won't update till I get some votes!**


	3. Chapter 2

"Hmm?" Len pushed back his hoodie to see who it was, frowning as the piercing evening sun hit his eyes and quickly sheilding them. "Who is it?"

"My name is Ai."

"That's it?"

"That is what you may call me." Len sat up, and saw the a boy around his age. He was staring at Len blankly, his teal hair swaying lightly in the gentle breeze. "Who are you?"

"I'm-"

"Kagamine Len." Len frowned.

"Why did you ask me if you already knew?!" he pouted, crossing his arms.

"I do not know. It is possible that my program contains a glitch. I shall have to run a scan," Ai said, shifting his gaze to the water for no apparent reason.

"Program? Are you a-"

"I am a machine," Ai said, turning his gaze back to the adorable blonde boy. Len thought he saw a flash of resentment in the other's eyes, but it was gone a moment later. He shrugged it off.

"I thought you were Ai," Len said quietly, hugging his knees and shifting to face the water. He picked up a stray stick and started poking the ground.

"Can one not be both? Are you not a robot as well?" Ai sat down next to him and cocked his head.

"I guess I am," Len muttered. "I don't see how it makes a difference." Poke. Poke. Poke.

"You are never treated differently?"

"I suppose the scientists treat me like a lab rat," the blonde said. Unconciously, the poking escalated to stabbing, the stick bending slightly under the force each time. "But they don't matter."

"They are the ones that brought your existance. Does that not make them important?"

"They don't care about me. I only care about opinions from those who care about mine." Ai made a small sound at that; Len dismissed it.

"But you still sing, even though that's what they made you to do. If they are unimportant, why do you do what they intended for you to do?" Len snapped at that.

"WHY are you ASKING ME these QUESTIONS?!" he screamed. SNAP. They both glanced down to see that the stick in Len's hand had recieved too much stress. "It broke..." he muttered, standing. "I'm leaving."

As the blonde boy quickly ran away, his hood bouncing behind him, Ai watched. Then he glanced down at his own chest, sharply raising a hand to his heart. The teal haired boy felt a strange pain. Perhaps his system really was corrupt. It was the only way to explain this pain, and the way he had no control over his own speech and thought processes once he approached the boy. What was this pain? He searched his data. Guilt, it said.

But that was impossible. He was a robot, Ai reminded himself. He had no emotion. This was his fate, decided for him.

He stood, clutching his chest as the pain intensified. A small part of him was telling him he needed to apologise, even if he didn't know why. Where was this second opinion coming from? It was not a part of the program. Was this what they called a conscience?

No, his system was merely corrupt. At worst, a virus. He would skip dinner and scan for the source.

XxXxXxtimeskiptodinnerxXxXxX

Everyone sat around the dining room with food, including three of the members of Quartet Night.

"Rin, have you seen Len?" Kaito asked in between mouthfulls.

"Eh? No, he's probably still sulking," Rin replied, blinking slightly from her seat next to Haruka. All of the girls had become fast friends, over something they refused to tell the boys. They giggled to each other throughout most of the dinner.

"Ah, come to think of it, Ai hasn't shown up either," Ranmaru said, glancing at the door.

"Is that a worried tone I hear, RanRan?!"

"Shut up Reiji," he huffed, folding his arms.

"RanRan?" Kaito questioned. "Pffffff~" he giggled.

"STOP LAUGHING!"

"It is funny though," Natsuki commented, pausing in his attempts at harassing Syo.

"Could we please refrain from causing a ruckus?" Masato suggested, putting his chopsticks down and sighing.

"Masanyan, you need to learn to loosen up," Ren teased, putting his feet up on the table.

"I think it's endearing," Gakupo purred, watching the bluenette from across the table with lazy eyes. Masato dropped his eyes to his food, poking at it.

"Erm, Kamui-sempai?" Gakupo turned to see an awkward Ittoki. "I'm not sure Masato is entirely appreciative of your advances."

"Well, he has yet to say no," the purple-haired man pointed out with a grin, leaning over the table. He lightly lifted Ittoki's chin as he leaned in. "Perhaps you are jealous I haven't given you any attention?" The samurai did not miss the way Tokiya's gaze turned on him sharply, eyes turning cold. This caused Gakupo's lips to curve upwards in a smirk.

"E-eh? W-well n-no!" Ittoki stuttered, moving backwards so that there was a reasonable distance between them. "Absolutely not!"

"Oh?~ Too bad." Just like that, Gauko sat back in his chair, giving up. Masato shot Ittoki a sympathetic glance.

"I'm done!" Kaito announced, making everyone gape in surprise. How did he eat that quickly?! "I'm going to go check on Len, okay?" he waved, leaving the room with a chuckle.

The moment the door closed behind him, his expression dropped into a worried frown. Len wouldn't sulk for this long over something so trivial. Something was wrong. He could tell Rin had her suspisions as well.

"Are you bipolar?" At the unexpected voice, Kaito jumped.

"Gah!" the blue-haired man turned to see Ranmaru, who was staring at him evenly. "You shouldn't sneak up on people!"

"I wasn't sneaking. You're just stupid."

"Ouch~," Kaito sang, clutching his chest dramatically. "Every word like a poisoned barb to the heart!"

"What is wrong with you?!" Ranmaru sighed in aggravation. "How can you go from having a worried look on your face to THIS?! It's unnatural."

"That's for people who know me well to understand," Kaito said, shoving his hands in his pockets and giving the rockstar an apologetic smile.

"Is there anyone like that?"

"Hm?" The vocaloid was giving him his full attention now.

"Anyone who understands you." The silver haired male blinked in confusion as Kaito momentarily donned a shocked, raw expression, before smiling again with his eyes closed.

"Of course! Lots of people!" he laughed, moving to leave. "I'm sorry, but I really have to check on Len!" he walked down the hall lightly. Ranmaru watched him leave, then shrugged.

"S'none of my damn buisness," he muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and striding away in the opposite direction.

(Rin and Len's room)

"Len, can I come in?"

Kaito's muffled voice could be heard through the door. The blonde boy hugged his knees, clutching the blanket wrapped around him tightly. It smelled weird, and unlike home.

"Len?" More knocking.

"Yeah..." The door opened, and Kaito walked in, closing the door behind him.

"May I sit down?" he asked. Len nodded, so the man moved and sat down next to him on the large bed. There was a long pause of silence, where both searched for a way to word their next dialogue.

"...Ne, Kaito-nii?" Len finally asked, the blanket covering his eyes.

"Mmhmm?"

"Why do you sing?" Kaito looked surprised and confused by the question, and answered immediately.

"Because I like to."

"But why do you like to?"

"I don't underst-"

"We were made for this, right?" Len interrupted, his voice growing louder. "What if this is just how we're programmed to feel? What if it's fake? What's the point?!"

"Len..."

"People don't accept us because we sound lifeless. What if we sound lifeless because there's no life in us? Because this desire, this passion, is artificial?!" He buried his face in the blanket. "I couldn't stand it if that were the case..."

"Len, you-"

"I just want to be a real person!" Len burst out, turning to face his older brother figure with tearful eyes. "I just want to be real, so that people can just accept me! Because, because singing is all I have!" At his limit, the boy started to cry.

Kaito wordlessly pulled the smaller boy into an embrace, placing a hand on top of his head and running his hands through his hair. "Len, what I'm about to tell you is very important," he said, holding Len tightly as the boy hiccuped. "It is true that we were created by humans, and that there is a certain artificialness to us. But your passion for singing doesn't have that. Passion isn't artificial, and it can't be created. That feeling you get when you sing? That's of your own free will. No one can make you feel that. It comes from your soul," he said with a smile. "So, don't worry. And no matter what, there will be people who don't accept you. It's like that for everyone. But I accept you," he said, ruffling the other's hair gently. "And so does Gakupo, Rin, Miku, Luka, Gumi, Yuma, Haku, Meiko, and everyone else in our messed up group." Len laughed at that.

"Thanks, Kaito-nii," he sniffed, wiping at his eyes and smiling.

"Yay! You're smiling again! There's the cute little boy I know and love!" Kaito grinned, tickling him.

"Kaitoooooo! Stooooop!" he giggled, flailing around.

"Not until you say you love me back!"

"Nooooooooo!" Len laughed. This, in turn, made Kaito laugh.

**What's this? Character developement?!**

** This chapter was really centered around Kaito and Len, but it will be different people next chapter, and so on. At least for the first little bit.**

** Scenes like Len blowing up will happen a lot with characters in this fic, especially the vocaloids, because I have a bit more free rein with their feelings and inner thoughts. But yeah, everybody's going to get to know each other very well. And Miku, Rin, Luka and Haruka are going to "help" a lot of couples realize their feelings in later chapters.**

** It's going to be a few days before I can start working on the next chapter, but review anyways! That's what gets the writer writing!**

** Also, Len and Kaito are more like unnofficial brothers in this fic. No pairings between them here.**


	4. Chapter 3

** Hey guys! Thought you might like to know that because I'm also writing another chapter story, the updates will alternate. So, I'll put up this chapter, and the next update you see will be for the other story, and then it will be a new chapter on this one, and so on.**

** Enjoy! (or try to):**

Tokiya was walking along the grounds, deep in thought. His face had unconciously turned into a frown, in which his eyebrows were tightly knitted together. Then he heard a voice, singing. He stopped to listen the words, and the soft melody.

The singer was painting a tale of a couple that didn't work out. That sometimes that's just what happens, but they move on anyway, feeling like they'll never recover. Of course, they do, and they find others. But sometimes, they couldn't help but think back and wonder about what could have been. And memories of the past become precious. It was a bittersweet song that he felt he could relate to. He followed the voice out of curiostiy.

Tokiya found her just as she finished the last note. It was Luka, sitting on the traditional bridge over the pond. She was wearing a light pink hoodie, with pastel yellow shorts and black and white tights. Her hair was up in a bun on top of her head, with a beaded hair ornament hanging down. He couldn't help thinking that she hadn't seemed like the type to wear such attire. It wouldn't surprise him if she hadn't chosen the oufit.

"You sing well," he said in his low voice, making his prescence known. "Very professional." Whereas Ittoki or Haruka would have jumped, her eyes merely flicked lazily over to him, before darting back to the water. She leaned forward, resting her folded arms on the railing.

"Thank you." her voice sounded robotic and detatched. Tokiya wondered how she could go from sounding like an emotional human singing, to a machine void of anything. "However, compared to the others you have met, I am inexperienced."

"Who would you consider to be the most experienced?" he asked in a monotone. Two could play at the uncaring game.

"Shion Kaito."

"Really."

"Yes," her head turned ever so slightly in his direction. Her gaze was resting on a flower petal, drifting on the surface of the water. A koi swam up from the shade under the bridge and nudged it, sending it floating in the other direction. "He was the first male Japanese Vocaloid. That is why his voice sometimes lacks the same fluidity that Kamui-san has. He is also the one that made me wear this." Well, that confirmed his suspicions about the clothing. "I 'read the mood' and 'assumed' that was what you were wondering."

There was a lull in the odd coversation, filled with the sounds of trickling water and birds. Whereas most people would fidget, both Tokiya and Luka were scarily still. Luka's legs hung from the bridge, almost touching the water.

"That song..." he began, causing her to look at him for the first time. "...What was it called?"

"Answer."

"It was very good." Luka's eyes widened a fraction at this.

"...Thank you," she said, resting her chin on the railing. "I wrote it myself."

"You don't have a composer?"

"Anyone can be our composer. We just know how to use our voices best. I have been trying to write a new song."

"Well, I wish you good luck," he said, bowing his head slightly before leaving. Luka watched him with curiosity. From what she knew of Ichinose Tokiya, he was rarely that polite to strange girls he didn't know. He was a man who believed that singing should be done by real people. Because of this, she had disliked him at first. But now, she felt that they were at a neutral standing.

She sighed, looking down at the water. Now she almost felt bad that he was going to be a victim of Miku and Rin's madness.

XxXxXxXxXxXxelswherexXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranmaru sighed grouchily, stalking down the halls. Reiji had forced him to wake up before noon today, and he was in a bad mood. Anybody who crossed him would have hell to pay. He dragged his muddy, booted feet through the fancy carpet.

The silver-haired man winced as he heard a horrible chord from a piano. It came from the room next to him. It sounded like someone had slammed their hands down on the keys, creating a symphony of disaster.

"Kaito-nii, stop that." a muffled voice cam through the door.

"Whhhyyyyyyeee?" That was the blue-haired idiot. Ranmaru's eyebrow twitched at the mere sound of his annoying voice.

"Because you need to write a song, idiot!"

"But Riin-chaaaaann!"

"WHAT."

"I'm sooooo boooored!" Another clang of piano keys. "And I don't even know what genre to pick!"

"Why don't you do another rock song?" Rin suggested. Ranmaru couldn't help but feel interested once his own area of expertise was brought into the mix. He placed a hand on the door, tilting his head to better hear the conversation. Kaito sang rock?

"Nope."

"Why the hell not?!" Rin barked at the same time the silver-haired punk muttered it under his breath.

"Because I can only write a rock song if I'm feeling inspired and full of raw emotions! That's the only way it should be! Otherwise it'll sound stupid!" A sigh from Rin.

"Fine, just get the hell out of my hair."

"Yaaayyyy!" Ranmaru had to quickly start walking away so that it didn't look like he had been listening as the door opened. "Eh?" Kaito obviously saw him, and he heard footsteps running towards him. "Ran-Ran, right?"

Ranmaru turned to face him angrily, and was about to yell at him for using that stupid nickname, but couldn't help getting distracted by the tight black skinny jeans the bluenette was wearing. And the blue plaid bandanna around his neck, and that stupid bubbly face that made him sick. Probably because it looked so fake to him. "...Don't call me that," he muttered darkly, turning away.

"How about Ran-chan?" when the angry man whipped his head around to glare at him, Kaito held up his gloved hands in surrender. "Kidding, kidding!" Then he saluted. The annoyed silver-haried male noticed that his fingerless gloves had airbrushed skulls. And his nails were painted blue? "I'll see you at lunch!"

...

Ranmaru definetly did NOT stare at his behind as he ran off. And if he did, it was only because of those stupid jeans.

XxXxXxXxXxXxelswherexXxXxXxXxXxX

"Teal is such a beautiful, passionate colour," Ren murmured from where he stood, leaning in towards Miku. The pigtailed girl looked like she might melt. "Don't you agree, Mi-chan?"

"Y-yes," Miku swooned, allowing Ren to gently taking her hand as she leant against the wall for support.

Masato shook his head in scorn. He was a fair distance away, sitting under a tree. How was it that whenever he tried to get a moment of peace, Ren happened to start flirting with a girl near him? It was disgusting. Ren probably did it to bother him, which just made it worse.

"What are you reading?" Masato glanced up, and turned several different shades of red when he saw Gakupo leaning in close to his face, looking at him with curious eyes.

"P-p-personal space, K-Kamui-san!" Masato stuttered, and Gakupo withdrew, though only slightly. "...Haiku," he murmured, a light blush still on his cheeks. He couldn't help but let out a small squeak when Gakupo crouched down in front of him, leaning in and holding the book in such a way that his hands covered Masato's. The blook was filled with beautiful illustrations and calligraphy.

"Haiku are beautiful," Gakupo said with a serene smile. Masato blushed again. Gakupo seemed gentler than yesterday. Easier to predict. Less crude. "But their beauty pales in contrast to yours."

"I-I-w-m-i-it-" Masato began to stutter again. Gakupo chuckled, fingers lightly brushing the blue-haired teen's jaw. Masato froze at the intimate gesture.

"It's cute when you stutter," he said, sounding amused.

It was around this time that Ren, feeling like he had flirted with Miku enough to annoy Masato sufficiently, looked over to where he knew the he was with a smirk. But that smirk died on his lips as he saw the situation. He faintly registered Miku gasping, and then running over to the two.

"Gaku-nii!" Miku exclaimed angrily, yanking the samurai back by the collar and holding him up in the air. "Stop harassing Masa-chan!" She glanced first at Ren, who was steaming, then to Masato, who was the colour of a tomato, and was covering his face with his hands. Inwardly, she was fangirling. Outwardly, she kept her angry demeanor.

"Miku-chan!" Gakupo gasped out, faintly lifting his arms in struggle, before hanging limp.

"Eh?" Miku said, looking down and gulping. "Oops, maybe I was a bit too harsh... Hijirikawa-san, could you please help me carry him to a couch?" Masato's head snapped up, and he reluctantly held under Gakupo's shoulders. Miku picked up his feet, and they awkwardly carried him inside.

Ren was left standing there, fuming. He glanced over at the book lying forgotten in the roots of the tree, and walked over. Bending down, he picked it up, lightly brushing the dirt off of it. His lips twisted into a small smile, anger forgotten for a small moment.

XxXxXxXxXxXxelswherexXxXxXxXxXxX

"Ah! Shion-san!" Kaito started at his name, looking away from the TV. Natsuki was standing in front of him, a huge smile on his face. "I have a question for you!"

"Hmm?" Kaito tilted his head. "Ask away."

"Can I PLEASE dress up Kagamine-kun? PLEASE?!" Kaito's eyes lit up.

"Only if I get to help!" he exclaimed, standing up on the couch.

"Kai-kun," I'm sitting on the couch too," Reiji complained good-naturedly, swatting him on the leg.

"Ah, sorry!" Kaito ran off, Natsuki following.

Kaito ran across the dorm to where Len was complaining to Camus and Cecil. He stopped breifly once he approached, long enough to pick up a shocked Len and sling him over his shoulder.

"KAITO! PUT ME DOWN!" Len screamed as the blue-haired male took off again, a cheering Natsuki leading him to his room.

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** "**Dammit," Rin muttered, slamming her forehead into the keyboard.

"Do you need help?" Rin quickly sat up at the sound of another voice, fumbling with her papers. She whirled around to see Ittoki and Haruka, both looking concerned.

"I'm sorry, am I allowed to be here?!" Rin exclaimed, clutching her papers with wide eyes.

"Of course you are, Rin-chan!" Haruka said with a smile. Then she tilted her head, adopting a quizzical expression.

"We just thought you looked like you were having trouble," Ittoki added, gesturing to the balled up papers littering the floor and the top of the piano.

"I am." Rin puffed out her cheeks in frustration. "It's so hard!" she wailed, throwing her arms up in the air.

"Let us help," Haruka said, sitting on the bench to the left of her. Rin looked at her in surprise.

"You guys would do that?"

"Of course we would!" Ittoki exclaimed, sitting down on the bench on Rin's right. "Why wouldn't we?" he gave her a big smile.

Rin stared at them both for a moment. After a few seconds, their smiles dropped.

"Is something wrong, Rin-chan?" Haruka asked in concern.

Rin turned, giving them a big smile. The bow on top of her head bounced slightly. "No, not at all!"

"Ah, good!" Ittoki sighed in relief. "So, where are you having trouble?"

"Well, you see..."

**End of the chapter!**

** Although I had outfits each of the vocaloids were wearing, I tried not to describe them unless it was for the sake of the story. I tend to get annoyed when there are paragraphs just describing attire in stories (not in an end-of-the-world way though), so I like to avoid it.**

** Please review! ^^ I really, REALLY like reviews...**


	5. Chapter 4

** By the way, in case anyone was wondering about typos, it's because my spell check doesn't work. Also, I write this really late at night, so my brain functions weird :/ (that sounds so legit! XD) Seriously, it gets to the point where I'll stare at a word and go : "Yeah, that's how you spell it. No wait, it's wrong. But I can't remember what it's supposed to be. Maybe it's right after all? Eh, close enough."**

** Enjoy!**

"You bastards!" Len spat as Kaito held him in a bear hug. Natsuki was rummaging through his closet. Despite the colourful language the shota boy had been yelling at him since he got grabbed, they seemed completely unaffected, all smiles and laughs.

"It's not that bad, Len!" Kaito said, earning a glare that clearly said "if I had my hands free, I would stab you."

"Here we go!" Natsuki chirped, pulling out something that made Len pale in dread. "I bought it for Syo-chan, but it would look really cute on you!"

"No way!" Len protested as they closed in on him. "TH-THIS IS ILLEGAL!"

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"AAAAAHHHHH!" A girlish scream could be heard throughout the house. It's source however, was from a male.

Cecil, past the screaming stage, was shaking uncontrollably, staring down at the severed head of a fish. He had walked into the kitchen for a snack, and this, THING came flying at him. With its' huge dead eyes and scaly head and weird mouth.

"I am sorry," a slightly robotic voice said. There was an ounce of feeling there. "Did I alarm you?"

Cecil slowly lifted his gaze, recognizing Luka. The pink-haired girl had a knife in her hand, half raised, and there was a beheaded tuna fish on the cutting board.

"F-f-fish!" Cecil stuttered out.

"Yes, there was no canned tuna. There was, however, a tuna in the feezer." An ever-so-slight smile was on her lips at his confused expression.

_Tap tap tap._ Cecil swivelled to see Camus running towards them, looking unusually concerned. Spotting Cecil, he slowed down, panting ever so slightly.

"I heard screaming," the count said, smoothing out his suit. Cecil blushed in embarassment.

"Th-there was a fish," he explained, looking down at his feet. Camus peeked into the kitchen and saw Luka, then looked back at the tan male.

"It's dead, it can hardly harm you," he said dryly. Cecil turned a darker shade of red, mumbling to himself. Still shaking slightly, he walked away, appetite forgotten.

Luka did not miss the way that Camus' eyebrows were knitted together, and how his sharp eyes tried to discreetly follow Cecil's path until he was out of sight. It was also impossible to miss how Camus refused to acknowledge her prescence. In a rare moment of... well, she wasn't sure what the word was for how she felt, but it prompted her to speak up as he turned to leave.

"Do you refuse to speak to me because you detest me personally, or are you judging me based on what I am?"

Camus looked at her sharply, and for a few moments they had a staredown. For the first time since Cecil, the count felt like this soulless robot was able to see into his soul. He turned away, and left the room.

Luka didn't mind. 'After all," she reminded herself, 'machines shouldn't have feelings.'

Rin and Miku would want to know about the chemistry between Camus and Cecil though. And a small, spiteful part of her didn't feel bad at all about the possible harassment the count might undergo from the rabid fangirls.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxelsewherexXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ai paused before opening the door. There were muffled voices coming from inside. This did not bother him, and he opened the door anyway. He was not prepared for what he saw.

Natsuki was holding Len in an arm lock. And Len... He was wearing... Ai felt heat rising to his cheeks. A maid outfit. A MAID outfit that ended at his mid-thighs, maybe shorter, with short, poofy sleeves and a white apron.

Len turned to him, and horror dawned on his face. The shota's face turned redder than it probably was before. And were those cat ears on his head?!

"Oh," Kaito paused. He had been putting thigh-high stockings on the boy, and stopped with his hands on the boy's leg to look over at the intruder.

"Ai-kun!" Natsuki said in mild surprise. "I didn't realize you would come to the room so early!" He studied him for a moment, the same way Ai would usually poke his face in front of others when he was inspecting them. "...Are you blushing?!"

Ai was still speechless.

"Isn't Len cute like this?!" Kaito said, slipping the stocking up Len's creamy skin the rest of the way. Embarassment-induced shota tears pricked at the corner of Len's eyes as he looked down at Kaito.

"Kaito-nii!" he exclaimed, mortified. He wiggled in Natsuki's hold.

_Overload._ Ai's mind went blank. Too much. His face went completely red, and stiffly and mechanically he walked over to his bed and lay down on it stiff as a board, slipping into maintenance sleep. Too many situations he didn't know how to deal with.

"Wake up!" Len shouted angrily. "You're supposed to help me, dammit!"

"Ah, I think Len broke him," Kaito mused.

"D-don't act like it's my fault!" Len protested. "You two are the perverts that dressed me up like this!" He struggled in Natsuki's hold.

The door opened again, revealing Syo. A vein popped out on the short blond's head.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Syo demanded to know.

"Ah, Syo-chan, are you jealous we're neglecting you?!" Natsuki said, sounding guilty. Syo's eyes widened, and he backed towards the door.

"No way in HELL!" he shouted, trying to make for the door. Kaito grabbed him by the ankle, sending him to the floor with a thud.

"Trade~" Natsuki sang, letting go of Len to grab Syo. Kaito sprang up and caught his "little brother" by the middle before he could escape out the window. One of them closed the door, and they got to work on Syo.

"YOU BASTARDS!" the boys yelled angrily.

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A high-pitched, melodic voice floated down the hallway. The music drifted along, past the curtained windows, and over pristine carpet, until it practically landed in the laps of Reiji and Masato, who had been researching vocaloids to learn more about them.

"Ah, that's Mi-chan!" Reiji exclaimed. "Her song sounds so good!"

"Yes, it is certainly catchy. I feel a bit of attitude emanating from it," Masato repled, a small smile at the corner of his mouth after the second sentence.

"Let's go listen!"

"I am not sure she would appreciate-" Masato was cut off as Reiji grabbed his wrist, dragging him.

"C-mon!"

They found Miku in one of the practice rooms, singing and dancing. It really was a catchy song, and her pigtails were flying. It was hard not to watch. She struck a pose on her ending note, for her not-so-imaginary audience. Miku was brought back to the real world by the sound of clapping. She turned to see the two, smiling at her. She blinked.

"You were... Watching?"

"We are sorry if it was private," Masato said at the same time as Reiji said, "You're amazing, Mi-chan!"

Miku made a small noise, shaking her head. "It's fine. Thank you," she said, giving them a cute little smile that made Reiji squeal inside.

"Is that your new song?" The blue-haired idol asked. She shook her head again.

"No, that song was called Kocchi Muite Baby. It's been out for a while. To be honest, I haven't even started on my new song yet," she said, rubbing the back of her head with nervous laughter. "I figured if I sang some of my old songs, inspiration would come to me."

"That's a great idea!" Reiji assured her. Then, he had a lightbulb moment. "Idea!" Masato made a face at that, making Miku giggle. "-What if you all performed for us? You could each sing your favourites, and maybe you would get ideas! It also helps us know you better."

"Makes sense to me," Miku agreed. "It could be lots of fun! Let's ask them at dinner!"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxelsewherexXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"I hate you guys so much!" Syo shouted in the faces of the two older males.

"You stupid perverts!" Len added for good measure. If this trauma wouldn't bring the two boys closer together, the author doesn't know what would.

"But you look so cute!" Kaito and Natsuki said at the same time, beaming.

"I'm in a MAID OUTFIT!" Len squeaked indignantly.

"I'm in LOLITA!" Syo said at the same time. And it was true. Once again, he was in a cute, frilly dress with bows. At least it was baby blue instead of pink, pink washed out his skin tone. Wait, what was WRONG with him?! He also had a pair of cat ears identical to Len's.

"Hey, Len! Make a kitty noise!" Kaito said.

"Nowayinhell."

"Pleeeeaaaaassee?" Kaito pleaded, leaning in really close. "I'll let you change if you do!"

Len turned bright red, hesitantly raising a hand and shaping it like a paw. "Nya~" Kaito and Natsuki both squealed, squeezing him. Syo turned away to hide his blush. There was something dreadfully wrong with him.

"Your turn Syo!" Natsuki said, poking him. They had already taken pictures, he didn't mind letting Syo change.

"NO!"

"Pl-"

"No #$%&ing way," Syo muttered darkly, standing up. "In fact, I think I've had just about enough of this!"

"Uh oh," Natsuki exclaimed, standing.

"What?" Kaito asked, picking up on his worried tone. They both looked at the small male, who seemed to be emitting a dangerous, dark aura.

"He's gonna blow!"

And then Syo lunged at them, going in for the kill. "Run for it!" Natsuki told him, and they both dove out the window into a bush. Syo was not about to let them off the hook, and jumped after them.

"Stop running so I can KILL YOU!"

"Ah, he has a tree branch!"

Len sighed in relief once they were gone, standing to go get changed. He grabbed his clothes and went into the bathroom.

It was at this time Ai awoke, sitting up and looking around in confusion. What had happened? The last thing he remembered was walking into his room and... He blushed again. Then he realized he was blushing, and slapped his cheeks lightly. Something was wrong with him. He heard something being knocked over, and someone cursing. Was someone in the bathroom?

"Who's there?" Ai called out in a monotone, trying to regain his composure. There was a silence.

"A-ai?" Composure shattered. That was definetly Len.

"Affirmative."

"C-could you help m-me? I can't get this off..." The door opened to reveal a blushing shota that refused to meet his eyes. The outfit was already slipping off his shoulder, partly unfastened at the back. "I think it's stuck..."

"Yes," Ai said, managing to keep his face calm until Len turned his back to him. It didn't help that Len's pale, smooth skin was half-exposed in the back. He shakily fixed the problem, silently cursing his own hands. It did him no good, but it gave him a small amount of human satisfaction.

"Th-thank you..." Len said, hurriedly rushing back into the bathroom and slamming the door.

Ai left the room, not sure he could stand another second in the other's presence.

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"You should tell him."

Ren didn't need to glance up from where he sat under the tree to know it was Tokiya, and he gave a small scoffing laugh.

"I have nothing to say."

"Tell him before you lose him."

"...That's just it," Ren said, straightening and placing a book in Tokiya's hands, before walking away. "I already have." Then he stopped. "Why don't you tell the person precious to you?"

Tokiya stiffened. "There is no one like that for me." Ren smirked.

"Do you really believe that? Tokiya, you cannot leave yourself in the dark forever. I've seen the way you look at him." Then he left, leaving Tokiya with much to contemplate. The man looked down at the haiku book in his hands. He should give this to Masato at dinner.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxtimeskipxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Everyone was sitting around the dinner table, eating. Miku, Reiji, and Masato had proposed their idea to the other vocaloids, and they had happily agreed. Gakupo was keeping his hands to himself, helping everyone relax.

"You two seem to have become fast friends," Ranmaru grunted at Len and Syo, who were sitting close together. They both had dark looks once it was addressed.

"When you go through a trauma like that with someone-" Syo started.

"-it's unavoidable," Len finished. The two shivered simultaneously. Kaito and Natsuki also shivered, nursing their bumps and bruises.

"Where were you all afternoon, Kamui-san?" Ittoki inquired warily.

"Passed out." This earned gaping looks from everyone. He ended up re-telling the story, resulting in a blushing Masato. "I woke up mysteriously on a couch," Gakupo finished. Someone must have carried me."

"Hijirikawa-san helped me!" Miku said helpfully, making Masato want to disappear.

"So you do care about me~" Gakupo threw him a flirtatious wink.

"Th-that's not it!" Masato exclaimed, flustered. The girls giggled.

"Hmmm, Ai's missing dinner again," Reiji said thoughtfully. "I wonder if something happened?"

"He had a bit of a mental overload," Kaito admitted, making Len scowl down at his food.

"I figured you would be behind it," Ranmaru growled in annoyance.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Kaito feigned a hurt expression, leaning back in his chair.

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"That's awesome, Luka!" Rin, Miku, and Haruka squealed. They were all in Haruka's room, sitting in a circle. Luka had just shared the information about chemistry between Cecil and Camus.

"AND we've picked the first couple we're going to bring together!" Miku added.

"They won't know what hit 'em!" Rin chuckled with a diabolical grin.

**It seems Camus doesn't like Vocaloids. Don't worry, it won't stay like that ;)**

** REVIEEEEWWW FOR ACTUAL PAIRING ACTION!**


	6. Chapter 5

**There isn't TOO much character developement in this one, but there are hints of it that need to be there before I can REALLY get to the good stuff.**

"Hmmm..." A mature female voice could be heard outside the Master Course dormitory. "...If my skills with a map are correct, this is the place." She looked up at the huge, extravagant building. "It's so posh it makes me sick," she scoffed, flipping brown hair out of her face. She shifted her weight to one side, her red skirt swishing slightly.

"Well," she said after a time. "Might as well enter and introduce myself."

* * *

"Hellloooooo everyone!" Miku sang, a mic in her hands. Well, actually, it wasn't a real mic. It was a hairbrush. "We have a great turnout tonight! I hope everyone is super stoked!" She winked to her small audience. "Today you'll get to see the vocaloids perform their favourite songs!"

"You're so cute, Mi-chan!" Natsuki swooned, making Syo grumble audibly and smack him upside the head.

All the members of STARISH, as well as Quartet Night, Haruka, and Tomochika were seated in a huge practice room. There was an impromptu performance being held, to see if it would give the vocaloids inspiration. STARISH was looking forward to learning more about their new dorm-mates.

"Thank you, Shinomiya-kuun~!" she sang. Then she looked sheepish. "Sorry for the weird acting. This is the only way I know how to open a performance!"

"You're doing great, Miku-chan!" Haruka assured her with a smile.

"Just be yourself with us," Ittoki said, sounding oddly serious. Miku faltered for a moment, before smiling again.

"Of course!" She looked at her fellow vocaloids, pigtails swishing as she turned. "Who wants to go first?" Miku watched in dismay as her friends shuffled their feet and looked to one another. "Anyone?"

"I can go first, I suppose," Len mumbled.

"Yay!" Miku clapped. "Yosh!" she turned to her audience. "First we have a song from Kagamin Len!" Rin and Kaito pushed Len into the center.

"Alright, alright," he grumbled, glaring suspiciously at how enthusiastic Miku and Rin were. "I'll be singing-" he began as the music started, but stopped, frowning.

"Is something wrong, Len-kun?" Cecil asked as Miku and Rin burst into a fit of giggles.

"This isn't the song I put in here," Len said. "This is Spice."

"Why don't you sing this one instead?" Reiji asked, and Len shifted awkwardly.

"Miku and Rin destroyed the previous disk," Luka put in helpfully. Len sighed.

"I guess it can't be helped."

Then he rewound the song and struck the beginning pose. As the song started, and he started moving his hips in... Provacative ways, they started to catch on to why Len was so uncomfortable with the song. But to his credit, he was very in character, pulling both Miku and Luka onto the dancefloor at one point in the song and dancing very... Fluidly.

As the song played, Reiji looked over at Ai, and blinked in surprise. He didn't realize Ai was even capable of blushing. But he was the colour of fresh strawberries. Maybe he should talk with the robot at some point. As he turned back to Len, he caught sight of Ranmaru's hair swishing. Hmm? Oh, Ranmaru must have been looking at Ai too. Of course.

The song ended soon later, and Len sighed, covering his face with one hand.

"I can't believe I actually did that," he muttered, and was surprised by clapping from the audience.

"You did a very nice job," Ren said. Syo nodded an affirmation, refusing to meet the shota's eyes. Len walked off to the side, sitting on the piano.

Miku sang World is Mine next, and everyone also agreed it was very good. Some of the demands in the lyrics made Haruka giggle.

"Hatsune-san?" Masato asked once the song was over. "Why is there a crown on your head?"

"Hmm?" Miku asked, glancing up at her head. "Oh! Sometimes, to help us get in character, we wear something. In World is Mine, I like to wear a crown."

"I'll go next!" Kaito chirped. He was wearing a white mask that made his face seem longer, and more sinister. "Miku, I need a dance partner!"

"Okay!" she nodded, keeping her crown. "Everyone, Kaito is going to sing Cantarella!" The teal-haired girl turned on the music, before running to her spot on the floor.

As the music started, and the two started twirling and leaping, everyone watched in surprise. Kaito's transformation was the most astonishing yet. He sang in his deep, rich voice, occaisionally glancing to the audience with a smirk as he held Miku in a deadly dance. His movements were sharper, and he was practically dripping with pheremones.

"Is that the same Kaito?" someone whispered, but Ranmaru didn't know who it was. He stared at the blue-haired man. This different attitude... It was attractive on him. As Kaito threw another glance, their eyes locked. Kaito smirked, licking his lips, before turning back to Miku. Reiji's expression was unreadable as Ranmaru huffed, a slight pink tinge to his cheeks.

"Are you even listening to what the lyrics are saying?!" Haruka asked Tomochika as the girl swooned.

"Eh? No, why?" Haruka giggled, shaking her head.

The song ended, and Gakupo decided he wanted to sing The Madness of Duke Venomania.

"But I'm missing a girl," he sighed, pouting. "Even if Rin replaced one."

"Len knows the dance!" Rin said, sending her twin a scary glance. Len shivered at an unknown memory.

"Ah, I can put Len in a dress to help him get in character!" Kaito suggested cunningly. He still spoke in his Cantarella voice.

"No dresses!" Syo barked, coming to his friend's rescue.

"Or I'll go find your neko suit," Len added in a deadpan. As Kaito froze, the audience became confused.

"Neko suit?" Ittoki inquired. Kaito took off his mask, revealing an embarassed blush.

"We don't talk about that," he muttered, sulkily walking to the side of the room and sitting. Several members of STARISH blinked in confusion.

"Now I'm curious," Ren said, an intrigued look on his face. Masato rolled his eyes at his ex-childhood friend's behaviour.

"He just said he didn't want to talk about it."

"I can explain it-" Luka began, but Kaito quickly leaped and glomp-tackled her, yelling "No!"

Once Kaito went back to the side of the room and the girls (and Len), took their places, the song began.

Gakupo danced very passionately, and very closely with the other dancers on the floor. At one point, he stage-kissed Luka. At another, he pulled Len so close their hips were against each other.

There was one particular line near the beginning of the song, about a new girl entering the harem, and during that part Gakupo pulled Masato unwillingly from his chair. He breifly spun him around, leaned in, and then let him return to his seat flustered.

"He's so dreamy," Tomochika sighed. "Why does he have to be gay?"

"You can still pretend, Tomo-chan," Haruka laughed, patting her friend on the shoulder.

Then, there was a brief scene where Kaito walked on in a feminine fashion, and "stabbed" Gakupo. As the girls fled, the purple-haired man made a dramatic show of dying, ending in him calling out to the last girl (Len).

As soon as the song was over, Gakupo sprung to his feet, bowing at the applause. The girls noticed that Ren wasn't clapping, and giggled knowingly amongst themselves.

"I shall sing next, if that is okay with everyone," Luka said, walking to the center. Tokiya leaned forwards, interested to see what she would pick.

"What do you want to sing Luka? You didn't tell us ahead of time." Luka thought for a moment.

"Should I perform a song that is popular, or one that I like?"

"Whichever you prefer," Cecil said with a smile. Luka looked at him, seemed to read something in his eyes, and nodded slightly.

"I'll be singing Interviewer." She stared straight at Camus, as if daring him to say something. He gave a small huff, eyes slanting away.

As the song began, Luka seemed to transform into a shy, insecure teenager.

Her voice was be filled with raw emotion as she sang. Sang about the love she had, that she already had decided would be forever unrequited. The hopelessness. And all she could do was ask questions. Resigned to being just friends.

When she finished, she was confused by the lack of clapping. Luka turned to her audience, and her eyes widened.

They were all staring at her in surprise. Some, like Ittoki, Cecil and Haruka, had tears in their eyes. Camus was staring at her in slight astonishment, and was doing a poor job of disguising it.

"Have. I hurt. Your feelings?" Luka asked, her voice sounding distant and distorted. There were pauses in the sentence, like a robotic child's toy would have.

"No," Ai said, shaking his head.

"It was beautiful, Luka," Tokiya said, surprising everyone. They all nodded.

"I was moved," Reiji added, sniffing slightly.

Luka seemed flustered at this, and unsure what to do. She ended up bowing sharply, and muttering a "thank you", before rushing off the stage. Kaito put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a big smile, tears in his eyes as well. He whispered something in her ear that made her blush, and nod.

"Well, I was going to sing Regret Message," Rin began good-naturedly. "But that's probably not the best idea now. Hey, I know! Lenny, sing Paradise of Light and Shadow with me!"

"Hm?" Len turned to her, putting his hair back into a ponytail. "Okay." He gave a playful smile. "I get to be manly in this one."

"So you do!" Miku giggled, pushing the disk in the player.

This one was interesting, and ended in what felt like a huge cliffhanger. There were a few moments of silence, as if they were expecting more.

"Wait... That's where it ends?!" Ranmaru exclaimed, despite himself.

"Yeah, sorry," Rin said, scratching the back of her head.

"Have you been having a performance without me? That's hardly fair."

Everyone looked to find the owner of the new voice. A woman leaned against the door frame, a frown on her face.

"Meiko!" Kaito exclaimed, running towards her. The other vocaloids turned with smiles, running to meet her. Luka followed more slowly. They all hugged her at the same time, practically burying her.

"All right, all right!" Meiko snapped. "That is all the hugging I'm allowing!" She started pushing them off irritably. Then she turned to the audience.

"My name is Meiko. Call me Meiko," she said, an ounce of dry humour in her voice. She brushed her brown hair out of her face. "I'm going to be staying here with the rest of you, as requested by Shining. For whatever reason..."

"Do you want to sing a song for us?" Natsuki asked, smiling. They stared in confusion as Meiko's expression turned dark.

"No," she hissed, turning on her heels and stalking away. Kaito turned to them, apologizing for her behaviour, before following her.

"Meiko!" he called after her. They listened until his voice faded away.

"Did I do something wrong?" Natsuki asked worriedly. Syo muttered someting along the lines of "probably", but Miku shook her head.

"Please don't blame yourself," she said, pigtails swishing. "Meiko is a bit of a mystery to us."

"Of course, we love her like family," Len added. "It's just that she's always been a little unpredictable and closed off."

"Kaito seems to know her well," Ai pointed out.

"Kaito knows everyone well," Gakupo said, chuckling dryly.

"But yes, he has known Meiko the longest." Rin was speaking now. "Those two are like brother and sister. Sometimes they'll have silent conversations just between them, lasting for minutes. They were the first Japanese vocaloids other than Leon/Lola, you see. Before the rest of us came along, it was just them, alone in the house."

"That sounds lonely," Haruka said, eyebrows creased in a concerned frown.

"I can't even imagine it," Gakupo said, shaking his head with a small smile. "There are so many crazy people there now that it's hard to breathe. Our family has grown immensly."

"So you don't know why Meiko reacted like that?" Ren summed it up.

"No," Luka sighed. "And we are not sure we ever will."


	7. Chapter 6

"Ne, Tokiya," Ittoki asked, sprawled over a couch in the sitting room. "They were all really good, weren't they?"

"Hn." Tokiya made a small noise of agreement, staring out the window as Luka walked across the grass. She didn't seem to be doing anything important, per say, but her movements seemed a lot more fluid and human-like than he remembered them being before.

"Is something wrong?" Ittoki asked, frowning.

"Hn."

"I believe he is thinking about Luka-san," Ren spoke up from where he leaned against the wall. When she was mentioned, Tokiya turned his gaze to the flirt. "I noticed as well."

"Noticed what?" Natsuki asked, confused. The other members of STARISH looked about the same. With the vocaloids elsewhere, they had grouped together to discuss their thoughts on the performance.

"Megurine-san's movements, and speaking voice are very stiff and robotic," Tokiya began in his monotone voice. "But when she sings, she has the ability to reduce her audience to tears, or overwhelming happiness."

"I don't understand," Syo said in a deadpan.

"I will elaborate," Ren replied. "If she can sing with so much, then she should be much more emotionally developed."

"I wondered as well," Masato added. "When Kotobuki-san and I researched, we learned that when vocaloids are first made, they are a robot through and through, in movements and personality. As time progresses, and they learn, they slowly become more like humans. Kaito and Meiko, for example, would be treated as normal human beings. No one would know they were machines unless they were told. Miku, Rin, and Len are quite far along in the process as well."

"If that is so, where does she get the ideas for the songs?" Cecil questioned. "It would be difficult to write a strong song about heartbreak or love if you've never experienced it."

There was a brief silence as they all contemplated this.

"I think we should just ask her," Ittoki said after a moment. "I feel bad just sitting and talking about it, and she doesn't seem like the type to hide things, necessarilly."

"Yes," Tokiya agreed solemnly. "We'll all go."

* * *

"Len, you never told me why you weren't at dinner the first night," Rin realized, sitting up from where she had been sitting on her bed. The sheets were orange, and she bounced on them happily, staring at her mirror image across the room. Len looked over at her, setting his book down. He was wearing his black reading glasses, that made him seem older and smarter.

"Oh, that?" he said, smiling slightly. "I was a bit upset about something at the time. Kaito ended up helping me through it."

"What was it?" Rin frowned. She hadn't known Len had had something on his mind like that before that night, and it scared her that she might not know him as well as she thought.

"You already knew about it, remember? About the possibility that we only loved singing because we were programed to and stuff?"

"Ah, that." Yes, he had brought it up before. She had waved it away at the time. It didn't really bother her as long as she could sing. She hadn't realized how much it bothered him.

"That's what it was. I'd been trying to forget about it, but A-Ai managed to hit the nail on the hammer within a few moments of meeting me," he admitted, stuttering slightly when he tried to say the other robot's name. Rin didn't miss that.

"Did you just stutter?" she asked, walking over and sitting next to him. Len blushed, frowning. He drew his knees close to his chest and hid his face in his book.

"NO! I just forgot his name!"

"You don't forget names, and you only stutter when you're around someone you're shy about," Rin informed him, smiling victoriously when he turned redder and started guffawing.

"Me?! Like A-Ai?! You're crazy!" he exclaimed, scooting away from her as she leaned closer.

"Len-"

"No! You've got it wrong! I don't think he's hot!" he protested, hiding his face. He let out heavy breaths as he waited for her to respond.

"I never said you liked him, or that you thought he was hot." He looked up at her smiling face, mortified. She had tricked him.

"Not a word," he mumbled. Flustered, he cleared his throat loudly, attempting to return to his book.

* * *

"Luka's gone, Rin and Len are in their room, and Kaito's gone after Meiko," Miku said aloud, sitting back in her chair. Gakupo lazily glanced over from where he sat on a window sill, but said nothing. "I envy those two, you know."

"Which two?" he asked, indulging her. He fiddled with the window lock as she talked.

"Kaito and Meiko. They go together like peas in a pod. I think Meiko's the only one that knows anything about Kaito." Then she seemed to stop and think. "Except for you, of course."

"Me?" Gakupo asked narrowing his eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about. I've shared a room with him for ages now, and all I know is that he likes ice cream and scarves."

Miku's eyes widened, as if she remembered something vitally important. Then she laughed, waving her hand in an attempt to shoo the conversation away.

"Of course, of course!" she said. "Silly me, I guess I just assumed."

"Yeah, well, assuming is only assuming," Gakupo huffed, staring out the window. Miku's expression transformed into a melancholic one as she watched him. Like she knew something he didn't.

* * *

"Megurine-san."

Luka's eyes darted to the group that approached her. She brushed her pink bangs out of her eyes, assessing who was there. Tokiya, Ittoki, Natsuki, Syo, Ren, Masato, and Cecil, as well as Haruka. She stood, tilting her head in a questioning fashion.

She was on the bridge again, Tokiya noticed. She seemed to have taken a liking to it.

"We have a question for you," Masato began, but then stopped. He didn't want to be the one to ask it. Tokiya decided it was his duty.

"You sing very well, but your songs... Forgive me, but you don't seem like you've experience love or heartbreak before. Where do your song ideas come from?" Tokiya questioned.

Luka looked at each of them for a moment, as if assessing the situation. Then she gave a small dip of the head.

"In truth," she began in a monotone. "The ideas for songs like that do not come from me. They are given to me by another."

"Who, Luka-chan?" Haruka asked gently. Who felt such heartbreak, and strong love to create a song like that?

"Shion-san." They looked at each other in shock.

"Kaito?!"

* * *

"I thought you'd be here."

Meiko didn't turn when Kaito entered the room. She doubted she's have been able to see more than a dark blob anyway. She hadn't bothered to turn the lights on in the cellar when she walked in.

"And I thought you'd find me easily," she replied, sighing from where she faced the corner of the room. "But even so, I didn't pick a different place to go."

"It's because you want comfort," Kaito said with a small smile, embracing her from behind. She leaned back into his hold, tilting her head so that it was nestled in the crook of his neck. "... You know, you can't run from the stage forever."

"I know," she sighed. Kaito could hear the weariness and sorrow in her voice. "But, I can't help the feeling... Well, you know already..."

"Yes, I do."

...

"Would you sing for me, Kaito?"

"Of course."

Meiko let her eyes drift shut, and took deep shuddering breaths as Kaito sang Song of Goodnight for her. Her and only her. When he was done, they were quiet for a long time.

"I lied."

"Hm?" Kaito asked, confused.

"Shining didn't ask me to come here. I asked him. I... I was worried about you. Not having anyone to talk to."

"I know," he whispered, letting his head droop. "Thank you."


	8. Chapter 7

It was time.

The girls had waited, and planned, and plotted. Now, they were ready. Ready to bring together the first couple.

"Are you sure this will work, Miku?" Rin asked skeptically from on top of the roof.

"Haruka is already bringing them to the location, Rin. It is hardly time to re-think the plan." Luka was always the sensible one. Today seemed to be no different.

"Of course it will work!" Miku exclaimed, dragging a bucket over to the edge of the roof and placing it next to the one that was already there. "There's a slight chill today. If we soak them thoroughly so that they have to take off their shirts, they'll realize how much they want each other! Foolproof!"

"Somehow I think we are the fools," Luka muttered under her breath.

"I just feel bad for Haruka. She looked guilty, the sweet thing. Oh! Miku, they're coming!" Rin exclaimed, shaking her fangirl-friend around.

"Quick, get ready!"

(with Ittoki, Tokiya and Haruka)

"Where's the cat, Haruka?" Ittoki asked, looking around.

"E-eh?!" Haruka exclaimed, looking around. "Maybe it wasn't as injured as I thought..." Tokiya sighed. "I'm sorry for dragging you two out here!" she ran away, not sure how long she could lie to them without sounding suspicious.

"So this was pointless." Toikiya faced the other with a stare that Ittoki felt could see right into his soul. He flushed before he even realized he had.

"I suppose-" Ittoki began, but was cut off when the two were completely doused in water.

"Wh-what?" Tokiya spluttered, confused.

"Where did that come from?!" Ittoki coughed, trying to get water out of his eyes. Tokiya glanced up, and his eyes widened. Another one was coming. But this time, there was a huge bucket falling as well. And it was heading right for Ittoki.

With no time to warn him, Tokiya lunged forwards and grabbed him by the wrist. Sharply, he pulled the other towards him. He tried very hard to ignore Ittoki's surprised squeak as the redhead was pulled into his chest.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" Ittoki exclaimed, his voice a few pitches higher. He jumped at the sound of the bucket hitting the ground, the water splashing up onto them. Quickly, he removed the rest of the water from his eyes. Then, he blushed.

Tokiya was holding him so close that there was no space between them. His face was literally in the taller's chest. An arm was on his back, holding him there. Tokiya seemed to realize after a moment that he could let go now, and did so.

"There was a falling bucket," Tokiya said shortly as means of explanation. Ittoki turned around, and his eyes widened.

"Eh?! Wow, it's made of metal! That's really dangerous!" he shouted. A cool breeze hit them, and they both shivered, Ittoki clutching himself tightly.

"W-we need to get inside and change," Tokiya muttered.

"Y-y-yeah, w-we sh-sh-should!" Ittoki stuttered out, teeth chattering. Tokiya took pity on him and wrapped an arm around him, heading for the room they shared.

(with Rin, Luka, and Miku)

"Rin, you clutz!" Miku exclaimed, whacking the blonde over the head. "Why would you push the whole bucket over?! You almost hurt Ittoki-kun!"

"Owowow!" Rin winced. "It turned out alright, didn't it? They'll get together!"

"Do not be so sure," Luka spoke up. "There is no guarantee this will be enough for Ichinose-san to break out of his denial."

"But it's a start," Miku said optimistically.

"That it is," Rin agreed. "We've got plenty more up our sleeves."

* * *

Camus found himself in the kitchen yet again, thanks to Cecil's screaming. Upon stepping foot in the room he was beginning to think was cursed, the tan male practically knocked him over with his hug.

"Help. Me!" he squeaked, quivering.

"What is it this time," Camus sighed. "Another fish?" He glanced around, and paled slightly.

Meiko was sitting at the counter, her face on the surface and her hand tightly clutching a bottle of sake. Judging by the mass amount of empty bottles already there, she had drunken way too much.

"How is that even possible?!" he choked. Sake was strong stuff. He was pretty sure that amount should kill you.

"**What are you looking at, PUNK?!**" Meiko said, raising her head.

When Camus had first seen Meiko, he did not realize that her Satan impersonation was so good. Or maybe she wasn't impersonating. He gulped, despite himself.

"Hey guys!" Kaito called, running up. "Have you seen..." he trailed off at their expressions. "She's drunk, isn't she?" he said in a deadpan.

"J-just a bit!" Cecil squeaked at the same time Satan-Maiko said "**I'm NOT DRUNK!**"

Meiko stood up, smashing half the bottle on the counter and brandishing the remaining half like a weapon.

"**YOU WANT SOME?! HUH?!**" she exclaimed, then seemed to lose her balance before she could take a step, falling on her back. Kaito sighed, making a disappointed face a mother would make for her children when they'd misbehaved.

"C'mon, let's get you to bed," he sighed, picking her up.

"Gunna kill'ou," she muttered, already half asleep.

"Sorry about that," Kaito said to Cecil and Camus. "I'll come back to clean this up in a moment or two."

Once he was gone, Cecil and Camus realized at the same time they were sitll clutching each other for dear life. They instantly separated, Cecil blushing and Camus coughing into his hand.

"We breathe word of this to no one," the taller ordered, smoothing out his suit.

"Agreed..."

* * *

Len looked up from where he was reading his book as someone else walked into the sitting room. He tried really hard to keep his cool when a boy with familiar teal hair strode in.

Ai froze once he saw him in the room. This led to awkward staring for a moment or two. Then, to Len's surprise, Ai turned around stiffly and walked back out.

The blond frowned, hurt. Did Ai hate him? What had he done to upset the other?

* * *

Ittoki was a shivering mess by the time they got to their room. Luckily, Reiji wasn't there, and they didn't have to answer questions. Tokiya quickly took off his shirt once the door was closed, causing Ittoki to turn the same shade as his hair.

"What are you waiting for?" Tokiya asked, looking over. "Do you want to catch a cold?" Ittoki jumped, and shakily took off his shirt as well. He blinked in confusion as Tokiya adopted an unreadable expression, and the smaller teen tilted his head.

"Is something wrong, Tokiya-kun?" he asked innocently. Tokiya quickly turned around, grabbing some dry clothes and walking stiffly over to the bathroom.

"I'm going to finish changing in here," he muttered, shutting the door behind him and praying that Ittoki hadn't seen him blush.

Ittoki hadn't, and was feeling really confused and hurt. Was he that unattractive? He frowned at the closed door, before shivering again. He should really get changed.

* * *

Kaito closed the door behind him after putting Meiko to bed. The brunette would most likely sleep through dinner, and then wake up in the middle of the night. He sighed again, banging his head into the wall.

"That really isn't healthly, you know." Kaito jumped at the familiar voice.

"Ranmaru!" he said, surprised. "What are you doing here?!"

"Walking to the kitchen."

"Ah, it's a little messy right now. I was about to go clean it up." Kaito looked at him, a smile on his face. "Want to help?"

"No." Kaito's face quickly transformed into a pout.

"You're no help at all," he whined, leading the way to the kitchen.

Once they reached the room, Ranmaru sat down on a stool, looking at the mess. At the silver-haired man's questioning gaze, Kaito spoke.

"Meiko was drinking," he explained. Ranmaru nodded slightly.

He watched as Kaito knelt down and starting picking up pieces of broken glass. As the vocaloid strectched forwards on all fours to reach a shard farther away, Ranmaru stared at his behind shamelessly, only looking away once Kaito glanced over at him.

"Are you just going to sit there and watch?"

"Yes."

"Well, Mr. Lazy," Kaito muttered, turning back to the task at hand. "I hope you enjoy yourself."

"I am."

After a while, Kaito deemed the floor safe again, and went to get himself a glass of milk. As he drank, Ranmaru felt the need to mess with him.

"What did Len mean by 'neko suit'?"

He watched in mild amusement as Kaito choked on his drink, coughing and spluttering with his face beet red.

"Wh-why would you bring that up now?!" he exclaimed, slamming his hands down on the table. He looked mortified.

"What's so bad about it?"

"It's embarassing," Kaito muttered, turning his face away. "Master is a perv sometimes."

Before Ranmaru could begin to question that, Kaito ran out of the room, arms flailing. He growled in annoyance. He was so much like stupid-Reiji it was disconcerting.

* * *

"You should stay away from him."

Masato turned as Ren spoke, to face his roommate. Ren was leaning against the wall, watching him work. There were darts in his hand, but he wasn't firing them currently.

"Stay away from who?" he asked, stopping his calligraphy. He narrowed his eyes. Who was Ren to tell him what to do?

"Kamui Gakupo." Masato stiffened, hurriedly turning back to his work. "He's bad news."

"It's none of your buisness," the blue-haired idol muttered, hand shaking.

"You're right," came the biting reply. "It's not." There were footsteps, and the sound of a door opening. "Forget I said anything."

The door shut with much force, signalling that Ren had left. Masato put down his brush, frowning. He felt guilty, but he didn't want to. It wasn't his fault that his ex-childhood friend wasn't making any sense.

He continued to tell himself this for the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

"Out of all the people that could feel all that, I didn't think that Kaito would be the one," Syo spoke up from his bed, causing Natsuki to glance over. The taller blond gave a concerned frown.

"I know. Kaito's smiling all the time," he said, turning the TV off so that he could talk properly. "And he seems genuinely happy."

"But to write a song that powerful..." Syo trailed off for a moment. "Haruka said..."

"I know," Natsuki nodded. "He's definitely not as happy as he seems."

"But what can we do about it?!" Syo groaned, flopping onto his stomach and shoving his face in his pillow.

"We'll think of something," Natsuki said, walking over and patting Syo on the head. "Promise!" For once, Syo didn't complain.

** BTW, there won't be any KaitoxMeiko past the close brother-sister thing they have going. **


	9. Chapter 8

**So I felt you guys needed to know that if I can't get this done before late August, this story has to go on hiatus until next summer. My life gets really busy during the school year, and I literally won't have the time to write :/ So... Keep cheering me on, I guess.**

** Stressstressstressstressstressstressstress-**

"They're still not together!" Haruka exclaimed to her new friends. "Ittoki looks hurt whenever the incident is brought up, and Tokiya gets all flustered!"

"Clearly, they are more stubborn than you bargained for," Luka said dryly to the other girls, still not pleased with being forced to be a part of this.

"We'll have to use more drastic measures!" Rin declared, pounding her fist into her open palm.

"Idea!" Miku sang. "Listen closely~"

The four whispered for a while, until the three fan girls were giggling.

"That's perfect," Haruka said with a smile. "I'm sure that will work."

"In the mean time, we need to get started on the next two, because they'll take awhile."

"Agreed," Luka nodded. "As it is said, they will be 'tough nuts to crack'."

"So we'll get ready for our TokiyaxIttoki plan," Rin began. Then her face split into a maniacal smile. "And I'll go have a talk with Gaku-nii."

* * *

The guys were all playing a giant card game in the lounge. Ai was absent of course, causing Len to be in a bad mood. Every time someone made a move, every other person had something to say about it. Because of this, it had very quickly become loud and rowdy.

"Ten of clubs," Masato said, setting the card down. Everyone 'oohed'.

"Two," Kaito declared, throwing a card down. Ranmaru was next, and the blue-haired vocaloid threw him a contemptuous glance. "I'd like to see you top that, Ran-Ran." Reiji blinked at that. That was his name for Ranmaru! And the silver-haired male didn't even seem to care.

"Shut up, I'm thinking," Ranmaru growled, looking over his cards. Of course, Kaito didn't shut up, leaning in closer and raising his voice.

"You have no hope of defeating me. My victory is inevitable, as is your demise! Kindly hand over all your worldly possessions and-mmf!"

Everyone stared in shock, Reiji and Len actually dropping their cards. Kaito's eyes were wide with shock, and his arms were making strange flailing motions.

With the cards in Ranmaru's hands, his brain had picked the easiest way to shut the other up. Which, of course, resulted in him smashing his lips into the other's. Of course, now it didn't seem like such a good idea.

As soon as Ranmaru realized what he'd done, he broke contact, scooting backwards as quickly as he could. Kaito absently brought his fingers to his lips, his face bright red.

"Why did you do that?!" Syo demanded, confused.

"He wouldn't shut up, and my hands were full!" Ranmaru defended himself, his ears going pink. Everyone was too busy to notice Reiji leave.

"Aren't you mad, Gaku-nii?" Len asked, searching Gakupo's face for any signs of aggression.

"Why would I be?" he asked, confused. Len did a double-take, before seeming to realize his blunder and dropping the subject. Camus noted this with interest.

"I think we should stop the game before Ran-Ran kisses anyone else," Cecil said flatly, throwing his cards down. Everyone agreed, making Ranmaru shout at the lot of them.

"A-hem," a female voice cleared her throat. They turned to see Rin standing in the doorway. "I need to talk to Gaku-nii for a moment in private please." she frowned. "Kaito-nii, why are you blushing?"

Kaito turned redder as Ren smirked, saying "Ranmaru kissed him."

"...I don't want to know," Rin decided, pulling Gakupo out of the room and closing the door behind her.

* * *

"Why am I here, Rin?" Gakupo sighed, examining his nails. Rin rolled her eyes.

"I need you to do something for me." she whispered in his ear.

"I can't do that!" he exclaimed, mortified. "He'd never go near me ever again!"

"But it will help them get together!" Rin argued, stomping her foot. "Oh, Gaku-nii, you HAVE to!" At his uncertain expression, she added "In the end, it will make him happy!"

"Oh, alright," he sighed wearily, frowning. "But I'm not looking forward to it."

"Oh, thank you Gaku-Gaku!" she squealed, glomping him.

* * *

"Shion, I want to talk to you."

Kaito glanced up from where he sat on his bed.

"Who is it?" he called as he moved to open the door.

"Camus," came the short reply.

"Ah, do you need something?" he asked, opening the door. Camus loomed over him in an intimidating fashion, before entering the room and sitting down on a chair. As Kaito closed the door, Camus began to speak.

"I've noticed that in the week you all have been here," Camus began, eyeing the vocaloid sharply. "The others are expecting many reactions from Gakupo that he never ends up having. Then they seem to remember something, and awkwardly change the subject. It has happened multiple times. Why is this?" Kaito paled, and fidgeted nervously, eyes darting to the door. "Do not think you can escape this conversation, Shion. I desire answers."

"... I really don't like talking about it," Kaito sighed, holding a hand over his eyes.

"Were you two dating?"

"Eh?!" Kaito exclaimed, blushing. "N-no! Nothing like THAT!"

"There is no need to be so defensive," Camus said, quirking an eyebrow. He waited slightly impatiently for Kaito to get the courage to speak. He shouldn't even be here, as he didn't care about these fake singers. He just wanted to satisfy his curiosity and leave.

"... When Gakupo first joined the vocaloids, he was very different from how he was now," Kaito began quietly. "Imagine a shy man, with the traditional values of Masato and the overwhelming kindness of Ittoki. He had the knowledge a samurai would have had, and yet at the same time was very technologically advanced." He paused, smiling sadly. "You can hear it in his voice. It's much smoother, clearer, and more beautiful than mine.

"We shared the same room for a time, as the house wasn't as big as it is today. I always found it funny that half the room was purple, and half of it was blue. There was a distinct line between the two." Kaito shook his head. "I'm sorry, I'm getting off track." He chuckled, but his eyes were empty. "To make a long story short, the Master was having troubles with getting Gakupo to co operate with some of the more intimate songs made for him. Gakupo refused to sing or act in such a provocative way. Rather than take the time to let him adjust, the Master re-wrote his entire program."

"What does that mean, exactly?" Camus asked when Kaito stopped.

"It means that his entire personality was re-written, and all of his previous memories wiped. A clean slate, happy to sing and dance songs like Duke Venomania. But we all remember what he used to be like. That's why everyone keeps slipping up like that." Kaito moved to head for the door. "I should go work on my song."

"Wait," Camus ordered. Kaito halted, head lowered and hand resting on the door. "...How close were you to Gakupo before his program was wiped?"

Kaito whirled around, staring at the count with wide eyes. Camus found himself drowning in the expression pouring from them. Angst. Nostalgia. Pain. Shock. Raw emotional wounds. Kaito's mouth opened and close a few times, and then he turned, throwing the door open and running out.

Gakupo walked in a moment later, raising an eyebrow.

"What was up with him? Better yet, why are you in my room?" he asked, not seeming concerned at all.

Camus said nothing, looking him over. Then, he stood, heading out the door. He had much to think about.

"Everybody's been acting strange," Gakupo sighed, making a face. "What's wrong with them?"


End file.
